Narendra Modi made a veiled reference to Rahul Gandhi likening him to a "small aquarium fish" unlike the saffron party who are like "ocean fish".
The war of words between Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and the Congress escalated on Sunday with the BJP leader in a veiled reference to Rahul Gandhi likening him to a "small aquarium fish" unlike leaders in the saffron party who are like "ocean fish" who can weather big storms.
The Congress quickly reacted sharply to Modi's fish remarks targeting the scion of the Gandhi-Nehru family in the intense debate on experience versus youth issue ahead of General elections saying he was like a "piranha who devoured human beings."
"If Rahul is like a fish in the aquarium, then Modi is a piranha who devoured human beings," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said in New Delhi.
The remarks of Modi poking fun at Gandhi while addressing a rally at Margao, 40 kms from here, came on a day when the 38-year-old AICC general secretary began his two-day Gujarat tour, his third visit to the state in the last 20 days,
Modi said youths in Congress are incapable of taking on challenges while BJP's youth wing can handle any hostile weather.
"We are not small fish floating in the comfort of aquariums but we weather huge storms to win," Modi said in an apparent referenc to Gandhi, who is being projected as a youth icon for the coming elections.
In a veiled attack again at Gandhi, Modi said, "we are not flowers cultivated by gardeners of the rich, we have grown up in the forests of our own."
Modi said the "prince" was not able to salvage any pride in Gujarat panchayat elections, despite camping in the state.
"In fact, Congress lost its base in Gujarat during panchayat elections. Rahul could not do anything," he said.
About Rahul as Congress's future prime ministerial candidate, Modi said youths in Congress are in politics by the virtue of their father.
"In BJP we have youths who are determined to work for the nation," he added.
"Some people call themselves 'young". I ask who are these self-proclaimed youngsters? Can one be called young if he belongs to a rich family? Isn''t a youth from a poor family young as well? Wasn''t former Goa CM Manohar Parikkar young?, Their only fault was that their fathers were not the PMs or CMs of of the country," Modi said.
Modi also said the youngest chief minister in the country belongs to the BJP.
"Flowers grown in an orchard may be beautiful but flowers growing on its own in jungle has its own power and different fragrance. Friends, I am a flower grown in jungle, We are the fish that swim in an ocean but we are not fish of aquarium. Fish of aquarium are being shown to you people. They don't have strength to fight waves of ocean but we can fight it," he added.
"Aren't there young people living in the slums and in the homes of poor? But they are not considered young for their fathers are not rich, because their fathers were not prime ministers or their mothers not big people," he said.
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